Once again events in the Middle East are unfolding like the ever shape-shifting sands of the region’s deserts.  Consider these recent events:  • Borrowing a page from the 1973 Yom Kippur attack, Hamas, the Islamist terrorist group that is the de...

Will both sides of the bistate area have a Jewish governor after November?That could be the case after the victory of hotel magnate J.B. Pritzker in last week’s Democratic primary in Illinois. In November, Pritzker will face incumbent Republican Bruce...

For centuries, “Let My People Go” has been the enduring principle of Passover, which commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But Passover 5778, which Jews the world over begin observing this weekend, must add a new demand...

Most parents know that when their children want something badly enough, they will do whatever they can to help them get it.Those impulses aren’t always the best, of course. But recent student protests in the St. Louis area and nationwide are terrific...

“To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.”       If the combined talents of Ian Fleming, John le Carré, Stieg Larsson and Daniel Silva had concocted the storyline that came out of Washington last week, every major publishing house would have...

No one should be surprised at the latest report from the Anti-Defamation League that incidents of anti-Semitism surged last year.And no one should take the report lightly.According to figures released last week by the ADL (https://www.adl.org/news/press-releases/anti-semitic-incidents-surged-nearly-60-in-2017-according-to-new-adl-report),...

The anguished plea of “never again” that has long been associated with the Holocaust has surfaced with new force and new meaning following the horrific deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.Too many mass shootings...

“The first step to building resilience is to take responsibility for who you are in life.  If you’re not willing to do that, stop wasting your time reading this letter.  The essence of responsibility is the acceptance of the consequences—good...

With a recommendation by Israeli police that corruption charges be brought against him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing his greatest challenge yet to remaining in office. If Israeli prosecutors follow the indictment recommendations,...

You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. — Exodus 22:20This time-honored Jewish value mentioned repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible is being severely challenged by an ill-timed and ill-advised decision...

Democrats have won 24 of the last 25 elections in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District in the Chicago area. Now, a perennial candidate who is running unopposed for the GOP nomination in the March 20 primary should easily help to extend that record.Candidate...

Despite strong opposition from Israel, the United States and Holocaust scholars, the Parliament in Poland has adopted a bill that criminalizes blaming Poland or its citizens for complicity in Nazi war crimes.  The bill seeks to punish individuals who...